Tipping question

[valtandc]

I like to tip extra for good service. Can someone explain how tipping works currently with Carnival. Is one tip added to my cabin bill at end of cruise. We have 2 per cabin.

 

Also, is it common to tip above and beyond the automatic tip (if there is one)

[itsalljimmysfault]

There will be $10 a day added to your S&S bill. This is divided between, I believe, your steward and your waiters and possibly other staff too. (not 100% sure) If we receive the usual great service we always tip extra to the stewards, waiters and anyone else who went above and beyond!

[jenwales]

I've always tipped my room steward extra. I've been on 4 cruises and every one of the stewards has been wonderful. I've tipped my server extra a couple of times, and once I tipped the assistant server more than the server because he did so much more for us.

[kr8z]

$10 pp per day. Just wanted to clarify that it is per person and not per cabin. We are a family of 6, so $60 extra a day for us. But hey, we'd tip more than that if we ate out 3 times a day with 4 kids, so it all comes out in the wash. Plus we get our room made up twice a day. I am the one making it up twice a day on a land vacation LOL You can certainly tip more to anyone you'd like. Since we have kids who attend camp, we tip Camp Carnival as well.

[Shelli]

There will be $10 a day added to your S&S bill. This is divided between, I believe, your steward and your waiters and possibly other staff too. (not 100% sure) If we receive the usual great service we always tip extra to the stewards, waiters and anyone else who went above and beyond!

 

This is how it's divided up, according to Carnival:

 

For your convenience, we automatically charge the gratuities for dining and stateroom staff to your onboard Sail & Sign account. The total amount is $10.00 per guest, per day (our recommended guideline) as follows:

 

$ 3.50 Per Day Stateroom Services

 

$ 5.50 Per Day Dining Room Services

 

$ 1.00 Per Day Alternative Services: distributed to other kitchen and hotel service staff

 

For Cruises-To-Nowhere, gratuities of $10 per guest, per day must be prepaid.

 

Our Staff is totally committed to exceed your expectations in every way possible. If you are not satisfied with the service you receive, we encourage you to contact the Guest Services desk while onboard. This will allow us to address your concerns in a timely and appropriate fashion. At your discretion, you may adjust the gratuities at any time while onboard. Gratuities will be deemed undisputed unless a request to modify is received prior to disembarking the ship.

 

For beverage purchases, fifteen percent of the bill is automatically added to the Sail & Sign charge. Room Service staff may be tipped as service is rendered. Tipping your Maître d’ is at your discretion, based upon the service you receive.

[SG81]

does anyone remember if they take out $10 each day or $70 at the end of the week? (for a 7 day cruise)

[kr8z]

does anyone remember if they take out $10 each day or $70 at the end of the week? (for a 7 day cruise)

 

I believe it is charged to your S&S on day 2. Someone will correct me if I am wrong, I am sure LOL

[Alliezona09]

Ummm Sabrina~ I hate to tell you but..... you're right~! ;-) On all my cruises it's always been posted to my account on day 2~!

 

I see you have a cruise in 3 weeks~ have a blast~!!!

[maldenmusic]

I believe it is charged to your S&S on day 2. Someone will correct me if I am wrong, I am sure LOL

We cruise next week and according to our billing from Carnival it is already on there along with the cruise charge and the taxes and fees. Does this mean that it actually won't show up on our credit card that we use for the Sail & Sign until Day 2?

[Alliezona09]

We cruise next week and according to our billing from Carnival it is already on there along with the cruise charge and the taxes and fees. Does this mean that it actually won't show up on our credit card that we use for the Sail & Sign until Day 2?

 

Did you pre-pay them? If you prepaid them then they will be on your cc when they run it for payments~ if you don't prepay them they will appear on your S&S account on day 2 but I'm not sure when the actually run your CC during the cruise, I know they put a hold on them, again not sure when or how much as I never check with my CC company while onboard~

[kr8z]

Ummm Sabrina~ I hate to tell you but..... you're right~! ;-) On all my cruises it's always been posted to my account on day 2~!

 

I see you have a cruise in 3 weeks~ have a blast~!!!

 

Thank you! I see you are going on the Splendor again in about 6 months. Enjoy it :)

 

What they told me at check in - on the Splendor actually - was that they put a $250 hold against your card. I assume that once your S&S charges go beyond that $250, then they get authorization for the overage. I was going to check in 2 cabins with 2 different cards, but she advised me to use 1 and if we needed to add more, use the other. I always buy those Simon Amex giftcards for $500 and use them on our cruises. My husband would spend every last penny we have if I used a regular card. He knows that once we run out, we are out. He is far more responsible than I am, but when it comes to money... man! If I didn't save and hide it from him (his names are on all the accounts, he just is oblivious to what is in which account), we would be flat broke all the time. He likes to eat out... often. We could pay for a cruise a month if we used the money he would like to spend eating out.

[mountain06]

We put cash on our S&S cards and it was charged the first day. I put $200.00 cash on each card and when the card gets low of cash they let you know. You can check the status of your card on your tv in your stateroom. When they get low I just went down to guest services and added more, if at the end of your cruise you have money still available, they will issue you a refund in the form of a check. I have teenagers and they can spend the money as they wish, soda cards, game room, shakes etc...works great for us!

[maldenmusic]

Did you pre-pay them? If you prepaid them then they will be on your cc when they run it for payments~ if you don't prepay them they will appear on your S&S account on day 2 but I'm not sure when the actually run your CC during the cruise, I know they put a hold on them, again not sure when or how much as I never check with my CC company while onboard~

Yes we elected to do the pre-paid gratuities and on our account summary it shows $100 charged for tips.

[QTPieRye]

So I am curious...... for our next cruise, in an attempt to have it literally 100% paid for when we board the ship, we have elected to prepay our gratuities of $140.00. They are shown on our CCL reservation. Since they will be paid before we board, I am guessing they will not EVER show up on our S&S account right? Is it true by prepaying that you lose the ability to adjust the tips for poor service....I cannot ever imagine poor service, nor have I ever not tipped.... I am just curious :)

[mcwebber]

So I am curious...... for our next cruise, in an attempt to have it literally 100% paid for when we board the ship, we have elected to prepay our gratuities of $140.00. They are shown on our CCL reservation. Since they will be paid before we board, I am guessing they will not EVER show up on our S&S account right? Is it true by prepaying that you lose the ability to adjust the tips for poor service....I cannot ever imagine poor service, nor have I ever not tipped.... I am just curious :)

 

I would guess that once it's prepaid, it's paid and guest services on board can't adjust that. I suggest you also take your paperwork showing you prepaid them in case they accidentally add them again to your S&S. You can always tip more in cash. Bring the necessary Washingtons & Lincolns, etc.

Also see http://www.carnival.com/Funville/blogs/faqs/archive/2010/04/08/what-is-the-tipping-policy-onboard.aspx for the breakdown.

[kr8z]

So I am curious...... for our next cruise, in an attempt to have it literally 100% paid for when we board the ship, we have elected to prepay our gratuities of $140.00. They are shown on our CCL reservation. Since they will be paid before we board, I am guessing they will not EVER show up on our S&S account right? Is it true by prepaying that you lose the ability to adjust the tips for poor service....I cannot ever imagine poor service, nor have I ever not tipped.... I am just curious :)

 

They should not show on your S&S then - or if they do maybe they show as charging it, but then crediting it? If I still have an old S&S ledger from the past where we have prepaid, I'll take a look and report back to you. I have heard that you do lose that ability, but I also assume that if you raise enough ruckus and it were a legit complaint, they would compensate you in some other way. Perhaps OBC? Not sure, pure speculation. I'll look in a few to see if I have an old one. I think I finally tossed a lot of old paperwork that we no longer needed though.

[BKJK]

Im just curious , a big ship like the dream, how many rooms do you think a steward has to clean? Im just wondering how much they end up making on a average 7 day cruise??

[QTPieRye]

They should not show on your S&S then - or if they do maybe they show as charging it, but then crediting it? If I still have an old S&S ledger from the past where we have prepaid, I'll take a look and report back to you. I have heard that you do lose that ability, but I also assume that if you raise enough ruckus and it were a legit complaint, they would compensate you in some other way. Perhaps OBC? Not sure, pure speculation. I'll look in a few to see if I have an old one. I think I finally tossed a lot of old paperwork that we no longer needed though.

 

Thanks Sabrina.... I am more curious than anything. My TA advised not to prepay gratuities because of not being able to adjust, but since I always pay them, I would rather just have it paid... I look at it as part of the cruise fare :) I know many people don't agree, just our preference! Again, I love the idea of walking onto the ship with $1,000 OBC to spend on nothing but what we want :)

[kr8z]

I couldn't find it. I would think the worse would be an immediate debit then credit, so you still wouldn't be "charged" if that make sense? It is nice knowing you have "free money" and don't have to worry about, "how on earth am I going to pay for this later?" LOL